I have been editing and making videos from time to time since late middle school or early high school. It started with short videos based on clips I made while playing games. There was one short video, which was semi-review, but it started with memes and frag movies or gameplay montages. I started editing with DaVinci Resolve and later switched to Premiere. But the first thing was quite a big project for me. It was a music video.
The chosen song? Adelle - Skyfall. The videos used? Formula One race highlights. And it worked. The video does not tell a story but showcases the highlights and lowlights of F1’s 2021 season. Luckily, it also avoids the controversy of that season finale by being released a few days before it. The shots used are taken from various places, and because of that, sometimes they are not of sufficient quality. Or I realised too late that I had acquired a shot of lower resolution. The shots connected flow with each other, helped by cross-fade, my beloved. The tempo of the song suits longer shots, which showcase overtakes from the beginning to the end. As the overtakes sometimes take seconds, which might have been unsuitable for faster songs. The song flows and does not fight with the video, and vice versa. There are a few moments where the video doesn’t get together as well, but those are rare. By cutting and using transitions on the beat, I ensured smooth transitions. I also selected shots based on the lyrical content of the song. This culminated in a pleasant showcase of the season.
My next important project was editing a vlog for KNTGameDec. It was a travel Vlog where leaders at the time went to Warsaw for the Gamedev & Creative Careers Expo in the spring of 2023. While I like a smooth and slow approach to the editing of movies, I’m not entirely sure if this was what the Producers were looking for, but the most grievous mistake I made was not titling interviewed people, which was also not caught in the review. The chosen background songs ensured the calming atmosphere of the video. I tried to master parts of the audio so the dialogue with the people on the show is more understandable and clear. In some cases, the audio was really noisy, but it was recovered to the best of my ability. In the end, I like how it turned out.
The next important project was a self-produced video essay for KNTGameDec about Bioshock, focusing on worldbuilding and environment storytelling. It was based on an essay I wrote earlier that year with the same title. I drew on my experience editing gameplay montages and trying semi-reviews. This video was the most challenging to make, both in recording the voiceover since I'm not a fan of my voice, and in managing the scale, as it was my longest video at that time. I wanted background footage to match my narration. So, unlike my other projects, I recorded my narration first, then matched it with footage. The process was generally fun putting it all together and filling in the blanks.
If you want to see all of the aforementioned videos, you can watch them below or see this YouTube playlist.